Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: jamie benn

Jamie Benn’s soft tone and shy smile are perfect for his personal strategy of life.

“I like to fly under the radar,” the Stars captain repeated on several occasions Wednesday.

The problem is that Benn’s playing style keeps making that more and more difficult. As much as some call him the most underrated player in the league, Benn is the reigning best left wing in the NHL, as well as a gold medalist in the 2014 Olympics.

He’s getting to be kind of a big deal.

“He just does so many good things,” said linemate Tyler Seguin. “It’s something new every game.”

LAS VEGAS (June 24, 2014) -- Center Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and defenseman Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, who each earned his third career berth on the First All-Star Team, head the list of players voted to the 2013-14 National Hockey League postseason All-Star Teams. Crosby received First Team honors for the second consecutive season, while Chara earned a spot on the First Team for the first time since 2008-09.

Joining Crosby and Chara are two second-time selections to the First Team, right wing Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks and defenseman Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks. The squad also features two first-time recipients, left wing Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars and goaltender Tuukka Rask of the Bruins.

I guess the NHL's annual start-of-the-playoffs crackdown on horizontal stick fouls only counts regarding obstruction and interference, not spearing, stick-swinging or otherwise using one's stick as an instrument of torture.

The Dallas Stars made the playoffs for the first time since 2008 by defeating the St. Louis Blues 3-0, bumping the Phoenix Coyotes out of the playoff mix and setting the set of 16 teams that will battle for the Stanley Cup starting next Wednesday, and after the game, DallasStars.com's Mark Stepneski reports that the Stars were nothing less than ecstatic about their achievement:

“It means a lot,” said Stars captain Jamie Benn. “Every kid dreams of playing in the playoffs and trying to win a Stanley Cup. I believe we’ve got a great group in here that can do some damage. We earned it tonight.”

The trip to the postseason is the first for the Stars since 2008, when they made it to the Western Conference Finals.

“It’s a great feeling,” said defenseman Trevor Daley, the only player still around from that 2008 playoff team. “We’ve been battling hard. We’ve been battling hard for a long time. “

Stars coach Lindy Ruff may have been the most excited person in the Stars' locker room, too:

While the Canucks and Flames were stealing the show, as it were, it turns out that one Matt Cooke received a possibly suspension-worthy elbow in the face from Jamie Benn, as noted by the QMI News Agency's Anthony Vasquez-Peddie:

Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn could be looking forward to some quality time in the press box after this nasty check to Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke’s head Saturday.

Just seconds into overtime with the score tied 2-2, Benn carried the puck across centre ice and bowled over Cooke with his elbow extended.

It’s safe to say NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan will have a good look at this one. Benn would be considered a repeat offender after having been fined $10,000 for a cross-check on Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Jones last March.

As if the hit wasn’t mind-boggling enough, Benn was not penalized on the play.

The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons offers up his usual smorgasbord of Sunday observations, including an explanation as to what went wrong between himself and Brian Burke, but this paragraph's worth of thoughts stood out to me:

Question that wasn't asked after Carlyle admitted he was spotted in a Swiss Chalet in Parry Sound over the break: Did he order half-chicken or quarter-chicken? ... Not surprised that tickets for the outdoor game in Los Angeles between the Kings and Ducks aren't moving. Part of the charm of these over-hyped events is the back-to-roots element of the game. It's hardly back to roots when fans are wearing short-sleeved shirts at Dodger Stadium ... The Sunday assignment: Go through every NHL roster and make a list of defenceman you'd rather have than Phaneuf. It's not as easy you might think. I got to 15 and then started arguing with myself ... The new contract, when it's officially signed, will make Phaneuf the sixth-highest-paid defencemen in hockey, tied with Drew Doughty and Zdeno Chara. The top three paid defencemen in the NHL are Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and this year's Norris Trophy favourite, Duncan Keith ... Why Jamie Benn will be on Canada's Olympic team. His coach is Lindy Ruff. Ruff is one of Mike Babcock's assistants with Team Canada. All Ruff has to explain is what he sees every night with Benn

Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill and Head Coach Lindy Ruff announced today that left wing Jamie Benn has been appointed to serve as team captain, becoming the sixth captain in Dallas Stars history.

Benn, 24, has spent all four seasons of his career with the Stars, leading the team with 33 points (12-21=33) in 41 games during the 2012-13 campaign. This past season, he led the team in shots (110) and was tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals.

"In a very short period of time, Jamie Benn has gone from being an exciting up-and-coming player in the NHL, to being a cornerstone of the franchise," stated Nill. "He has steadily grown as a player and as a person. He conducts himself each and every day in a professional way and continually leads by example. We fully believe that he will be a driving force in getting this team to the next level - and now he's our captain."

How do you feel about the off-season changes that were made to the Stars?

Benn: It’s definitely exciting. Bringing in a talented, young superstar like (Tyler) Seguin is exciting for our hockey team and the city. We definitely brought in some other players that have some experience in (Shawn) Horcoff and (Sergei) Gonchar, so it’s going to be exciting and I think we are definitely looking forward to this year.

Does it feel different? The team has made coaching changes and player changes in the past, but this seems different for some reason.

Benn: It definitely feels different around here. There are maybe five or six guys left from my first year here. It’s good to have Lindy (Ruff) behind the bench, he has a lot of experience, and Jim Nill definitely knows what he’s doing. So, as a player, we are all excited and ready to go.

The Stars official stance on Jamie Benn is that he will be “re-assessed” on Sunday after a hard hit by Phoenix’s Martin Hanzal in the final two minutes of Dallas’ 2-1 loss to the Coyotes Saturday. They are not listing any injury at this time.

While the Stars won’t say it, they definitely are concerned about a potential concussion for Benn.

NEW YORK (March 2, 2013) – Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn has been fined $10,000, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for cross-checking Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Jones in NHL Game No. 295 in Dallas on Thursday, February 28, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 16:00 of the third period. Benn was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking.

As a first-time offender, the maximum Benn could be fined was the lesser of $10,000 or one-half of his daily salary.

FRISCO, Texas - Dallas Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk announced today that the club has agreed to terms with center Jamie Benn to a five-year, $26.25 million contract ($5.25 million per year -- the first year of the deal is pro-rated).

Benn is entering his fourth NHL season, all as a member of the Stars. Last season, the 23-year-old had a career year, setting personal bests in goals (26), assists (37) and points (63). He led the club in game-winning goals (7), multi-goal games (5) and was second in shots (203). Benn was also selected to his first NHL All-Star Game, where he took home the accuracy shooting title during the Superskills Competition.

"Jamie Benn has proven in his short, but very productive NHL career, that he is not only this franchise's cornerstone player, but also an emerging superstar in the league," said General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk. "We believe that Jamie has the necessary tools to continue his growth and lead this team into the next great era of Dallas Stars hockey."

While getting Kari Lehtonen signed was exciting news for Stars fans Friday, the real contract they have been waiting on is a new one for Jamie Benn. After all, the 23-year-old forward, who played in the NHL All-Star Game last season, is expected to be the centerpiece of the team for years to come.

So why isn’t he signed yet?

Part of it is the uncertainty of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and part of it is defining a value for Benn. In the past, the Stars gave out “bridge” contracts for about two or three years and about $3 million. Loui Eriksson and James Neal took those deals. There is also a comparable in Claude Giroux of the Flyers, who is in the middle of a three-year deal for $3.75 million.

However, Benn seems to want more than that. With several young players signing deals of five or six years near $6 million a season, the market seems to be changing, and the Benn camps seems to want to take advantage of that. Because neither side is talking, the numbers are speculation, but there clearly are differences that the two sides have not been able to bridge.

The sense around Dallas was that the Stars were hoping to sign Benn to a "bridge" contract -- essentially, an intermediate deal between his bargain-basement entry-level deal and striking it rich. It's an approach that paid off in the past when they inked Loui Eriksson and James Neal to two-year pacts that gave the players sizable raises, but didn't break the team's limited budget, either.

But in the wake of more sizable contracts being given to Edmonton's Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, Benn and his agent Rich Evans have more ammunition to demand a deal with longer term and a higher average annual value -- perhaps greater than the six years at $6 million per given to Hall.

Here's the twist: now that it's known that the league wants a CBA that won't honor the full value of previously signed deals, there's no reason for Benn to sign any time soon unless he's given an even higher AAV to protect him when escrow claws back 15-20 percent of every deal. Or he could threaten to hold out when play resumes, knowing that a team struggling to regain its footing in the Dallas market can't afford the negative optics of starting a delayed season with its franchise player on the sidelines.

The Stars are laying low on the Jamie Benn talks. While there has been recent discussion between assistant GM Frank Provenzano and Rich Evans (the agent for Benn), GM Joe Nieuwendyk said there is nothing imminent, and both sides appear to be very patient.

In an e-mail with Evans, he said that Benn would like to keep negotiations out of the media “for the time-being.”

And that’s probably a good sign. Both sides seem to be treating this very professionally, and both sides seem to be very respectful of the other.

“Jamie Benn is going to be a Dallas Star, and this is just part of the process,” Nieuwendyk said. “He’s an important player to us, and it’s not like he’s going anywhere.”

The Stars have sent Benn a qualifying offer and he will clearly turn that down. As a fifth round draft pick on an entry level contract, he had a cap hit of $821,667 for the past three seasons, so it’s time for him to get a big raise. But the qualifying offer is part of the process. Because of it, the Stars retain Benn’s rights and can match any offer that another team might present to him.

There is a little caveat for fans, though. As long as Benn remains unsigned, he is open to an offer from another team _ and that could make for a little more tension over the summer.

Jamie Benn had an appendectomy and will probably be out 10 days to three weeks, GM Joe Nieuwendyk said. This comes on the heels of new that Mike Ribeiro’s MCL tear could keep him out until after the All-Star break.

That means the Stars could be without their top two centers for the next five games. And for a team that is struggling to score goals and struggling on the power play, that’s rough news.